Manel Kape scores comeback TKO over Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC Vegas 119

Manel Kape came from behind to flatten Kyoji Horiguchi with a third-round TKO in Saturday's UFC Vegas 119 main event, settling a score nearly a decade in the making. The Angolan flyweight trailed on the cards after two rounds before landing a counter right hand that sent the former RIZIN champion crashing to the canvas at 2:42 of the final frame, per MMA Fighting's live coverage of the bout at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

Horiguchi submitted Kape with an arm-triangle choke when they first met in a 2017 RIZIN tournament. This time, the script flipped. Kape absorbed a hard left hook early in round three that put him on unsteady legs, but Horiguchi failed to press. Moments later, Kape caught him clean on a striking exchange and swarmed once the Japanese veteran hit the mat, finishing with punches that left Horiguchi facedown before referee Herb Dean intervened.

Kape weathered adversity before finding the finish

Horiguchi controlled the first two rounds with speed and grappling, landing body kicks and a second-round takedown that had him in top half guard for much of the period. Kape threw slicing elbows off his back but could not reverse position. MMA Fighting scored both of the opening frames for Horiguchi. The third round opened with Horiguchi landing another clean right that wobbled Kape, yet he chose not to capitalize. Kape regained his footing and timed the counter that ended the fight.

"Kyoji's an amazing fighter," Kape said afterward, according to MMA Fighting. "Maybe the best fighter I ever fought in my life. I want to be like him and if I'm here in this position it's because of Kyoji. One thing about me, I never give up. I face more adversity in life. I knew he was going to touch me at some point. One thing about me, if I touch you one time, believe me, you're going to be dead."

The win extends Kape's streak to four consecutive knockout victories and seven wins in his last eight appearances. He entered the bout ranked second at flyweight and had reportedly been in line for a title shot before opting to take the Horiguchi rematch instead. Horiguchi, who challenged for the UFC belt in 2015 and spent eight years as a champion in RIZIN and Bellator, had won two straight since returning to the promotion last November.

Kape told Daniel Cormier in the cage that he does not know the UFC's plans but believes he has earned a title fight. The promotion has not yet announced its next flyweight championship bout.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Manel Kape flattens Kyoji Horiguchi with vicious knockout to get his revenge in UFC Vegas 119 main event
• MMA Fighting — UFC Vegas 119 live blog: Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi 2
• MMA Fighting — UFC Vegas 119 Results: Kape vs. Horiguchi 2
• MMA Mania — UFC Vegas 119 live results, highlights, play-by-play | Kape vs. Horiguchi
• MMA Mania — Highlights! Manel Kape makes case for flyweight title shot after wild TKO comeback over Kyoji Horiguchi | UFC Vegas 119